As the stone door swung outward on hinges that were unseen until the door began to move, light spilled out from the chamber beyond. Four sconces held pale flames that cast a pallid light over the chamber, which was barely ten feet on a side, with much of the space opposite the door being taken up by armor stands, weapon racks, and a pair of solid oaken chests. To my eyes, the majority of the items in the room had magical auras about them.

  Of course, there was only so much that could be fit in so small a space, so this would be ill-suited to serve as an armory for any force of fighting men. However, as someplace to store some emergency gear for an agent or two, it was plenty of room. At a glance, all the items here were of the practical variety. Perhaps some less practical items were hidden away in the chests, but the weapons and armor I could see all looked to be focused on function over beauty. There were no gilded, ornamental works of finery here, but tools to be hidden away, and then used, when the time was right.

  In fact, the only item of any beauty at all was a mirror set upon one wall, with a burnished silver frame, and glass that looked like rippling silver. It, too, was magical, that much I could plainly see. Even if I didn’t have magical sight, the mirror’s nature would have been evident the moment the mirror’s ‘glass’ began to shift, stretching out to form face-like shape, as if someone had stretched a piece of fabric across a man’s face.

  “Report.”

  I was taken aback for a second at the sudden voice, coming from the mirror, but Siora, ever light on her feet when it came to social situations, stepped forward, and said in her most diplomatic voice, “The Moonwood is under threat by the servants of Malar, who have conjured the Blood Moon in the skies above. Those the wolves of Malar take are either turned into werewolves themselves, or have been turned into components of a vile ritual, to provide a constant food source for the wolf packs.”

  “Who is this? What is your callsign?”

  “We have no callsign, for we are not Pipers. We are adventurers, answering a call from the Temple of Selune to investigate the Moonwood. We found a Piper who had been caught by the Malarites and turned into a living food source for the wolves. As we were pledged to end the Malarite threat, he told us how to enter this cache, so that we could complete our task, before we freed him from the unending agony he faced.”

  “If you are not one of us, which of our people told you of this place? What is their name, and who are you?”

  “His name was Beltran, and mine is Siora.”

  “Very well, Siora. Should you survive your task, then visit the Green Stag Inn in Deepwater. Ask for Beluar. He will reward you for your efforts.”

  “We will see what the gods have in store for us.”

  At that, the mirror’s surface rippled once more, as the face faded away, and went still. Siora looked at me, and then at the mirror. Figuring what she wanted, I looked at the item, and found it to be an ‘Aspect Mirror’.

  I nodded once, and said, “You can speak freely. It has used up its magic for the day. And I’m afraid that one of your speeches was… truncated. Only twenty-five words at a time, I’m afraid. So, whoever this figure is, whether it is this Beluar or an intermediary, he might not actually know that Beltran is dead, yet.”

  Siora breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s fortunate. I didn’t like the idea of having someone listening in while we explored this cache.”

  Frostmane chuffed. “So, think it is real, or a trap?”

  Vestele grinned. “At the moment? Probably both. They’ll probably have other agents check to see if Beltran lives, and the situation in Moonwater, and report back. So, if we do well, then it will likely be some sort of reward. If they find we just killed their agent and ran off with their goods, then it will be a trap. And if we don’t show, they’ll probably send someone after us.”

  I grinned. “Well, that’s a problem for later. For now, let’s check out what the Pipers left in this cache, and see what we can use to help us kill the wolves.”

  We quickly noticed that the cache seemed to be set up for a team of up to four to resupply or replace lost gear. That wasn’t an uncommon size for an adventuring company, so it made sense that the Pipers might make plans with that in mind. And if it were a lone agent who needed supplies from the cache, then they would at least be able to get something that could fit their abilities.

  While the weapons were different, the suits of armor were all the same, and there were four of them, along with eight potions in identical unmarked vials. The Pipers were definitely going for the idea of outfitting their agents to be as deliberately nondescript as possible. Well, at least as far as weapons and armor went. The other gear was a bit more interesting, though they still weren’t exactly unique items.

  They were all basic magical items, really. Some were improvements over the versions that I or the others already had, but they were all fairly easy to understand, and all of them were items that could easily be slotted into a group’s existing gear to empower different members of the party.

  This is where the real score for the cache came in. These items, mostly rings, were all more niche in their uses, but they just so happened to be niches that were very important to adventurers. It was easy to see how the Pipers would want a team of agents to have access to items like these.

  Then there were a few odds and ends, to finish up kitting out an adventuring group. Well, mostly. There weren’t rations or the like, since those would go bad. But, otherwise, it was a fairly ideal way to get some agents ready to act in the field.

  However, I could also see a major potential problem in the future. The Pipers already knew that we’d come here, and they were doubtless going to check up on us. There were, quite literally, thousands upon thousands of gold worth of magical gear in this cache. Even if a group like the Pipers might have a habit of ‘acquiring’ items through essentially stealing from thieves, that didn’t mean they would be happy with us cleaning this place out completely.

  On the other hand, that was only a problem if they lived through this, and between Siora and me, I figured that we could talk the Pipers down if they got upset. Looking to the others, I said, “All right, we got plenty of loot here. Not all of it we can use, but what we can’t use will sell nicely when we get back to civilization. I say we leave the dungeon kits and everburning torches, since we got enough of those already, and take everything else. Then we can even truthfully say we left some of the cache for those who came after us.”

  Everyone readily agreed, and we began sorting through the loot. The arrows went to Siora, who was the only one who used a bow, and the twins each took two of the vials of Alchemist’s Fire. The coin and healing potions we split between us. Sure, Frostmane couldn’t exactly use a potion himself all that easily, but it was better to have them spread out, instead of all in one person’s bag. Vestele eagerly picked up the morningstar, which was better than her own, and Siora took the quarterstaff, despite her preference for her rapier. The Amulet of Health, Ring of Force Shield, Ring of the Predator, and the other weapons and armor we couldn’t use, so they went into Frostmane’s bag for safekeeping until we got someplace where we could sell them.

  For the rest, naturally, the Cloak of Charisma and Chausible of Fell Power went to me, since I was the one that could make the best use of them. I also took the Gloves of Dexterity, since I was the one more likely to be dodging blows, and the Ring of Arcane Power, since I would get more use from the increased caster level. The Ring of Force Shield had a lovely effect, but wearing iron against my skin wasn’t really something I wished to do. My damage reduction would keep me from actually taking damage from the ring’s touch, but that didn’t mean I would enjoy the experience.

  As for the others? Frostmane got the Belt of Giant Strength, being our main melee attacker. Vestele got the Boots of Striding and Springing, allowing her to keep up with her sister, as well as the Periapt of Wisdom, an upgrade from the one she wore, and the Ring of Anticipation. And Siora got the Amulet of Natural Armor and Headband of Intellect, giving her a substantial boost to her abilities.

  When we were through looting the cache of everything we could use, or could sell when we got back to Northport, or some other city, we closed the door to the cache. I could hear the click of a lock as I removed the Piper signet ring from the indentation, but the glamour did not reappear, leaving the door still visible to anyone who came into the cave. Well, if there was a secret to reestablishing the illusion, no one had told it to us, so I chalked it up as being not our problem.

  The cave was fairly dry, despite the stream running through it, so we decided to make camp here for the night. The oppressive feeling coming from the ruins was still there, but it was focused on the power of the Malarites, not us. We could deal with it later. Right?

  Frozen Soul -

  Tales of the Void Traveler -

  Memoirs of a Supervillain -

  Volume 1 -

  Omnibus 1 -

  Complete 1-20 -

  Book I - Game Start

  Omnibus I - Books 1-4

  Issue I - Origin Stories

  Complete Edition - Omnibus

  Book 1 - Welcome to the Apocalypse

  Omnibus 1 - Books 1-4

  Book 1 -

  Book 1 -

  Book 1 -

  https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B0739V6R6T